Thursday, October 8, 2015

No Hamburgers Cuba

by Victor Cherubim

( October 8, 2015, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Back from a month’s vacation in Canada’s French country in Montreal including a week all inclusive air holiday for less than £250.00 in the stunning white sands beach of “Cayo Santa Maria,” off the Atlantic coast of Cuba, I find myself in a different world, as I journey in time.

US withdrew from Cuba I can recall when I was in the U.S. in 1961. After the Missile crisis in October 1962, there has been a frozen period of antipathy and embargo over these many years as Cuba changed from being bossed about by the Yanks. I had heard so many stories since, of life on the cheap – cheap Havana Cigars, cheap women, Che’s Communism, Fidel Castro’s Non Aligned Movement (NAM), that Cubans would all be in Miami if Cuba was not an island? How can I ever miss going to such a beautiful, beguiling beach country before it ever became “American?” For nearly six decades Cuba had been cut off from the Hamburgers and Coco Cola. I jumped at the idea of a visit during Papa Francisco’s visit to Havana in late September 2015. I found the change enticing.

US reopening of Cuban Embassy

There are many sides to Cuba than the reopening by President Obama of the US Embassy in Havana on the 14 August 2015.

We all thought that it was the Cubans who voted with their feet by swimming the channel across the Atlantic to safe havens in Florida. No one ever mention that as Canada acted as a “go between” Cuba and America, all this time United States citizens flocked in large numbers to Cuban beach resorts by flying into Toronto and Montreal on the “cheap” and holidaying in Cuba.

What we Sri Lankans can learn from Cuba

There are no entry Visas for visit to Cuba on holiday. You are given one Card with two sides, onboard your flight – All in One Immigration and Embarkation Card with five questions: Name, First Name, Date of Birth, Passport No. and Citizenship, provided you have booked a package holiday. But who wants to stay on in Cuba? That is not at issue. You are allowed to return again and again to sample the beach resorts and the simple lifestyle provided you have a confirmed return flight to your destination. Passports are not stamped either on arrival or departure, and you cannot have the Card as a souvenir.

What is more important for us in Sri Lanka? We were told that there is no freedom of religion. We were told that there are no places of worship. Surprisingly, the Pope was welcomed at many shrines around the country and by many hundreds of thousand Cubans at Church services which were all broadcast worldwide. No begging is seen or allowed. Internet services are sparse. Mobile service is by purchase of Telephone Cards. There are two Cuban currencies, the Peso (moneta national) used exclusively by the locals. The other currency for tourists is the Cuban Convertible Peso, which is worth approx.25 times the National Peso. There is a move to rid itself of the dual currency soon.

Cuba is known for its white sand beaches, shallow coasts, rolling mountains, cigars and rum. It is a fascinating destination. The people who serviced the hotel complex were friendly and the music was great. It was quite a momentous time with Cubans very excited about the changes going on. The future enthusiasm seems infectious.

One thing is certain

Cuba has been saved by the agro-chemicals produced for the weapons used in the many wars around the world in the past fifty years. Imports of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and even fast food have yet to reach the shores of Cuba. This is a blessing in disguise as Cubans have been spared by Western disease or western values? They hope to continue to grow their own food and live their own life without the import of the hamburger or the need to replenish their lands and their farms with agro-chemicals. What a feat and what price for being isolated?

How long can it last is anybody’s guess?